There once was a time when Marvel writers and artists didn’t use the Christmas season to go on bizarre and bigoted rants against “white” people. Saladin Ahmed, however, is a sterling example of the “House of Ideas” (or was it the House of Ideologues?) under Sana Amanat and editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski.

Mr. Ahmed — for years — has publicly offered his “white people” lamentations, and yet he is a.) rewarded for his bigotry by the company’s top brass, and b.) plays the victim with a straight face.

Given that Mr. Ahmed is obsessed with white people, it is perhaps fitting that a White Stripes song spotlights what he does after professionally embarrassing himself on social media.

From Jack White’s Effect & Cause:

Well, first came an actionAnd then a reactionBut you can’t switch ’em ’round
For your own satisfaction
Well you burnt my house down
Then got mad
At my reaction

Well in every complicated situation
Of a human relation
Making sense of it all
Takes a whole lotta concentration, mmm
Well you can’t blame a baby
For her pregnant ma
And if there’s one of these unavoidable lawsIt’s that you can’t just take the effectAnd make it the cause, no

Take a bow, C.B. Cebulski. While you tweet about your “Air Supply” dreams, Marvel writers are doing everything in their power to alienate readers with bigoted Twitter accounts.

Check out my latest YouTube video for a more extensive look at what is permitted at Marvel on Mr. Cebulski’s watch.

A funny thing happened as the movement called Comicsgate grew over the past two years: YouTube personalities with millions of subscribers joined industry professionals in calling any criticism “racist” and anti-LGBT.

Enter Linkara from Atop the Fourth Wall this weekend. He echoed the “raaaaaaacist” and “homophobic” allegations on Twitter while simultaneously asking to hear about quality comic book reviewers.

Your friendly neighborhood blogger/YouTuber was tipped off by someone who has frequented this website for years — Carl — and within 24 hours Linkara blocked me for having the temerity to call out his passive-aggressive shots at Comicsgate.

Linkara claimed that he suddenly had to hit the block button because racists were coming out of the digital woodwork, but is that true?

He provided zero evidence and his Twitter feed shows a different story — users were recommending YouTube channels like Professor Geek, ClownfishTV, Captain Frugal, #1 Marmaduke Fan, and Just Some Guy.

The reality, dear reader, is that certain YouTube personalities desperately want to stay in the industry’s good graces. They like freebies. They like getting press passes. They like getting invited onto convention panels, and they like to be offered all sorts of other perks that having the right political bent brings within a corrupted industry.

The bitter pill to swallow for many people is that Comicsgate is an incredibly diverse network of individuals who are tired of unprofessionalism, cronyism, partisan politics shoehorned into books, subpar writing, and uninspired art.

Comicsgate as a whole is not hated because its critics’ allegations are true; Comicsgate as a whole is hated because its critics allegations are false.

Stan “The Man” Lee’s death last week left fans across the world with a heavy heart. Kind words filled Facebook walls, Instagram pages, and Twitter feeds. There were random exceptions (e.g., professional wet blanket Bill Maher), but in general millions of people handled themselves as expected when a beloved public figure exits this world and enters eternity.

Marvel editor Tom Brevoort, however, didn’t get the memo.

Yes, that’s right, one of Marvel’s very own decided it would be a great idea to remember Stan Lee’s life by weirdly turning it into an excuse to play “Who Will Have the Greatest Legacy?”

Tom “King Nothing” Brevoort tweeted:

“Stan Lee was both the best-known comic book editor in the world and the best writer of his era, the 1960s. The fact that others surpassed him in this endeavor by building on what he did changes nothing of it,” (emphasis added).

Ask yourself this question: What kind of person uses the death of an industry giant to immediately begin figuring out creative and professional pecking orders?

Ask yourself this question: What kind of person gives a backhanded compliment about Stan Lee that translates: “Yeah, he was an pretty amazing guy — in the 1960s!

People ask me why and when the movement often labeled “Comicsgate” started. Giving an exact date is a rather pointless endeavor, but readers can glean important information merely by looking into the social-media musings of Mr. Brevoort.

Sadly, the kind of creator who would downplay Stan Lee’s significance right after his death is not the exception to the rule at Marvel Comics these days. Furthermore, the kind of man who is willing to rhetorically hit Mr. Lee below the belt is also the kind of man who is willing to do so to long-time readers.

There is much more to be said, but for a primer on the origins of Comicsgate I suggest watchingmy latest YouTube video. As always, make sure hit the ‘subscribe’ button if the video format is up your alley.